Now more than ever before municipalities all over the world are experiencing a growing waste disposal problem. Suitable landfill space continues to decrease. Water pollution concerns have severely limited off-shore solid waste disposal. National and international pollution control laws, regulations, and treaties have become much more stringent in recent years. It is now more difficult than ever to get a permit to legally dump wastes and the penalties for dumping wastes illegally have dramatically increased. Further, the existing piles of untreated municipal waste both above and below ground have raised public concerns about future health risks and possible ground water contamination. For these reasons, the continued dumping of solid wastes has become a very unattractive option for most cities.
Therefore, in order to effectively stem the steady flow of refuse into landfills and waterways and make recycling easier, many municipalities and waste management companies have decided to more thoroughly sort their waste into recyclable and non-recyclable goods. Although some municipalities have used public information campaigns to encourage their citizens to separate recyclable and non-recyclable wastes and have passed ordinances establishing fines for those who refuse to recycle, these programs have met with varying levels of success. Thousands of tons of recyclable materials still routinely find their way into landfills or into the sea. Hence, it is imperative that inexpensive and more efficient waste processing methods be ushered in to properly control the rising levels of trash produced by our cities, towns, and villages and make recycling more efficient.
Today, almost all household and non-toxic business trash is collected in plastic refuse bags. For sanitation reasons and consumer convenience, these plastic bags are specifically designed to resist breakage and degradation. However, because the refuse bags are designed to resist breakage, they are difficult to open during processing. Furthermore, the process of collecting, loading and unloading the refuse bags, breaking them open, and sorting and separating the trash into recyclable and non-recyclable materials at a waste processing facility is a very unpleasant and labor intensive task. Hence, many municipalities and waste management companies desire specialized machinery to aid waste processing workers in sorting and separating refuse.
Most of the household waste collected in refuse bags is soft matter. However, cans, bottles, and other recyclable products have a more solid structural integrity. In order to efficiently and effectively recycle these otherwise wasted products, it is necessary to maintain their structural integrity and prevent breakage. A bag breaking device that breaks or damages potentially recyclable containers only creates more unusable wastes that will eventually end up in the already overflowing landfills.
What is needed is a simple, low maintenance, efficient, and economical device to aid in the sorting and separating of refuse which preserves the fragile, potentially recyclable contents within the refuse bag.